Proposed NLRB rules could change how unions vote

Seldom do issues regarding unionization go off without a hitch, and a recently proposed National Labor Relations Board rule is likely to repeat that trend, especially considering that it was shot down once before.

On Feb. 5 The NLRB proposed a set of rules that would expedite the speed of union elections and organizations. Similar rules were proposed in 2011, but they were promptly torpedoed by business groups representing employers.

The new rules would offer the most sweeping overhaul to the way unions votes happen in over a decade, the Wall Street Journal reports. Not only would the changes impede an employer’s ability to legally challenge the vote to unionize, it would also allow for electronic voter filing, which could enable for a larger number of union members to participate in the voting process.

“Unnecessary delay and inefficiencies hurt both employees and employers. These proposals are intended to improve the process for all parties, in all cases, whether non-union employees are seeking a union to represent them or unionized employees are seeking to decertify a union,” Board Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce said in a statement. “We look forward to further exchanges of ideas to improve the processes in a way that will benefit workers, employers and all of the American people.”

Issuance of the proposed rule was approved by Democratic members Pearce and Kent Y. Hirozawa and Nancy Schiffer. Republican Board Members Philip A. Miscimarra and Harry I. Johnson III dissented. While Pearce also indicated that each member was interested in constructive dialog that streamlined these type of processes, as of yet the law has not been put into effect.